Right now, in a typical year, NBA fans would be busy opening free agency, even though offers were not officially announced for another handful of days. But obviously, this has not been a normal year.
With the season still on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, not many elements of a traditional season have yet been produced. Not only has free agency not started, but there has also been no draft, and no player awards announced.
The dates of those first two events have been released. The timing of the latter, however, failed.
Still, we have a pretty good idea of which players will be the top contenders for each award. It would be surprising if Giannis Antetokounmpo did not win his second consecutive NBA MVP award. And with Zion Williamson starting late, Ja Morant is expected to be named NBA Rookie of the Year. But what about defensive awards, not just defensive player of the year, but defensive teams as well?
Those are often the most difficult decisions for members of the media when completing their award tickets. While stats like steals and blocks are easily quantified, they don’t necessarily paint the whole picture on the defensive side. So, to establish who the best defenders in the league are, Jon Krawczynski and Josh Robbins of The Athletic went straight to the best possible source.
They anonymously surveyed 33 NBA head coaches and assistants, who offered their votes for the NBA’s first and second defensive teams. Additionally, 23 of those coaches voted for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, ranking their top three choices, just like the media does.
As expected, the Warriors had a very limited presence on the coaches’ ballots. You don’t find many defensive players on teams with the worst record in the league. That said, Golden State was not entirely absent from the vote. Former NBA defensive player of the year Draymond Green didn’t get enough recognition to qualify for any of the defensive teams, but his reputation earned him a coach’s first-place vote.
“He didn’t have a great year, but he’s one of the smartest,” said the coach. “He is very versatile. He is tough, he recovers, he accepts the challenge.”
Green’s intelligence on the defensive end was praised by another coach, who compared it to LeBron James.
“LeBron is up there with intelligence like Draymond,” explained the coach. “Those two are probably the brightest at that end of the floor.”
Like defensive teams, Green didn’t get enough votes for Defensive Player of the Year. But, like defensive teams, his reputation preceded him, as he received a single second-place vote.
As Krawczynski and Robbins pointed out, Green’s absence on most ballots has a lot to do with the fact that Kevin Durant left in free agency, Klay Thompson was out for the entire season, and Stephen Curry appeared in just five games, which had a lot to do with Golden State’s record for last place. Although there were certainly stretches where Green’s performance declined, they seemed to be the product of the environment.
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Warriors coach Steve Kerr expects Green’s “best version” next season, and Green recently sent a message to those who have forgotten how good he can be.
If Green reminds them of what was planned and meets Kerr’s expectations, you can be assured that he will be much closer to the top of next season’s defensive award tickets.
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